Suspect charged in fatal hit-and-run that killed KU student in Douglas County

A Lawrence man now faces felony charges in the death of 20-year-old University of Kansas student Elsa McGrain, turning a tragic hit-and-run into a case of possible roadway accountability in Douglas County. Prosecutors charged William Ray Klingler, 36, on Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025, after investigators say evidence linked his truck to the crash that killed McGrain while she was out for a run north of Lawrence.

McGrain was struck Thursday evening, Nov. 6, 2025, in the 1700 block of East 1500 Road, near the Lawrence Regional Airport. Her body was not found until about 3:35 a.m. Friday, Nov. 7, when a passerby discovered her along the roadside. The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office arrested Klingler on Sunday, Nov. 9, after tips from the public and investigative leads pointed officers to the suspect and his vehicle.

Court documents cited by local reporting say investigators used surveillance video, traffic cameras, license plate readers and debris from the scene to identify a white 2008 Ford F-150 registered to Klingler. A broken headlight piece carried a serial number that matched the truck, and fibers found at the crash scene were consistent with McGrain’s green shirt. Local reporting also said the truck was seen traveling at a high rate of speed.

The charges reported in the case include leaving the scene of a fatality accident, circumventing an ignition interlock device, driving while suspended and no proof of motor vehicle insurance. Court records cited by local media show Klingler had four prior DUI charges and three DUI convictions, with cases in 2017, 2018 and 2019, and a 2024 DUI case still pending. That history has intensified questions in Douglas County about how repeat impaired driving cases move through the system and how quickly dangerous drivers are kept off local roads.

Douglas County District Attorney Dakota Loomis said his office would hold accountable those who endanger roadways and offered condolences to McGrain’s family. The sheriff’s office also asked for more witnesses, especially anyone who was driving in the East 1500 Road area between about 5:45 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 6.

On campus, KU Chi Omega sisters and other students held a memorial for McGrain, remembering her as kind, genuine and full of light. McGrain, who was studying pre-medicine and was set to graduate in 2026, hoped to become a pediatric oncologist. For the University of Kansas community, the case is now about more than one arrest: it is about whether pedestrians and runners on rural roads outside Lawrence are being protected before another family has to wait through the night for news no one wants to hear.